“I am greatly encouraged by the prospects for increased catches in 2015 for North Sea Haddock and Nephrops, particularly after the cuts sustained this year.

“These are two of the most valuable stocks for our fleet and this will be very welcome news for our fishermen.

“I am also encouraged to see that for most of the stocks of interest to Scotland, they are being fished according to the science and I would like to thank our fishermen for the contribution they continue to make to sustainable fisheries.

“For North Sea Cod, although numbers continue to increase, progress is slower.

“However, at a more local level in different parts of the North Sea, the science confirms what our fishermen have been telling me.

“This is that there are hotspots of abundance and these don’t align with the quota available.

“This can create a real headache for our fishermen who struggle to avoid catching cod even when they are targeting other fish, yet are forced to discard it because they cannot get enough quota.

Local MP Michael Moore said: “It has been incredibly tough for our fishermen in recent years as their quotas have been cut and fishing opportunity reduced.

“For a long time, they have been calling for quotas to be based on sound science, so I welcome this publication from ICES which gives us the science we need ahead of the next round of negotiations in the autumn.

“I know local fishermen will be very pleased to see that North Sea Nephrop stocks are increasing and I will be working closely with them to ensure that they get an improved quota off the back of these figures.”

For more information on the ICES project, and to browse presentations of its data-driven advice by species or by region, you can visit http://www.ices.dk/Pages/default.aspx.